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Faith and Order Paper No. 235

The study document “Churches and Moral Discernment: Facilitating Dialogue to Build Koinonia,” harvests the fruits of the study process on moral discernment which began in 2015. In its analysis, the document describes patterns in the complex negotiations between continuity and change as churches respond to moral challenges. At its core, the study document invites the churches to more deeply understand the significance of “the conscience of the church” in moral discernment processes and points to its ecumenical potential. The document offers a tool to analyse core elements in the conscience of the church that shape moral discernment.

“Because God Loves Me—Affirming My Value in Christ,” a new curriculum written in French that is designed to help children ages 7-12 address gender-based violence.

Though the curriculum, edited by Yvette A. Kelem and Blandine E. Ackla, was developed for use primarily with churches and church groups in Africa, it is relevant and accessible for other French-speaking populations as well.

The Christian education programme encourages the full involvement of children, adolescents and youth in becoming early proponents of nonviolence. Developed for children's Bible study leaders, teachers, parish volunteers, and others who work with children, the curriculum serves as a guide to help churches live into their responsibility to protect all children, girls and women from gender-based violence.

Este documento, fruto de la labor de un grupo internacional formado por representantes de diversas regiones y tradiciones confesionales, ha sido concebido como un recurso para las iglesias y los cristianos de todo el mundo con vistas a la 11ª Asamblea del CMI, que tendrá lugar en Karlsruhe (Alemania), del 31 de agosto al 8 de septiembre de 2022. La publicación ofrece reflexiones bíblicas y teológicas sobre el tema de la Asamblea, inspirado en el versículo “Porque el amor de Cristo nos impulsa” (2 Cor 5:14), en un contexto de cuestiones cruciales a las que se enfrentan las iglesias y la humanidad en su conjunto. El documento, inicialmente, está disponible en cuatro idiomas: español, alemán, francés e inglés.

The result of the work of an international group drawn from different regions and confessional traditions, the text is intended as a resource for churches and Christians worldwide in advance of the WCC’s 11th Assembly, to take place in Karlsruhe, Germany, from 31 August to 8 September 2022. It offers biblical and theological reflections on the assembly theme, inspired by a biblical verse – “For the love of Christ urges us on” (2 Cor. 5:14) – against the backdrop of critical issues confronting churches and humanity as a whole. The text is available initially in four languages – English, French, German, and Spanish.

Based on the premise that the local congregation is the primary agent for healing, and each individual member has a unique gift to contribute to this healing ministry, this book provides guidelines, resources and tools to equip and support local Christian congregations in starting a sustainable health ministry.

It provides a theological and public health basis of the Health Promoting Churches (HPC) model and a guide on organizing the HPC programme sustainably.

To commemorate a year since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the spread of COVID-19 a pandemic, the World Council of Churches provides this resource for a week of prayer.

This book was designed as a resource for use in prayer groups, congregational services, personal prayer, and in the pastoral accompaniment of those directly affected in different ways by the pandemic. The prayers, messages, reflections, statistics and WCC resources have roots in faith challenged by mourning, fear and uncertainty in different contexts worldwide. 

To commemorate a year since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the spread of COVID-19 a pandemic, the World Council of Churches provides this resource for a week of prayer.

This book was designed as a resource for use in prayer groups, congregational services, personal prayer, and in the pastoral accompaniment of those directly affected in different ways by the pandemic. The prayers, messages, reflections, statistics and WCC resources have roots in faith challenged by mourning, fear and uncertainty in different contexts worldwide. 

This publication and its companion volume collect the responses received to The Church: Towards a Common Vision (TCTCV) between 2013 and 2020.

The responses address the Church’s mission, unity, and its being in the Trinitarian life of God in order to encourage and advance the churches’ growth in communion with each other in apostolic faith, sacramental life, mission, and ministry for the sake of God’s world.

These responses are of great importance, not only because they test the points of convergence and of difference identified in TCTCV but also because they express the interests and concerns of many member churches and ecclesial bodies engaging in the work for Christian unity. They also provide invaluable insight and guidance for future work on ecclesiology.

This publication and its companion volume collect the responses received to The Church: Towards a Common Vision (TCTCV) between 2013 and 2020.

The responses address the Church’s mission, unity, and its being in the Trinitarian life of God in order to encourage and advance the churches’ growth in communion with each other in apostolic faith, sacramental life, mission, and ministry for the sake of God’s world.

These responses are of great importance, not only because they test the points of convergence and of difference identified in TCTCV but also because they express the interests and concerns of many member churches and ecclesial bodies engaging in the work for Christian unity. They also provide invaluable insight and guidance for future work on ecclesiology.

Faith and Order Paper No. 230

“Love and Witness,” intends to flesh out more fully the insights of Come and See with regard to peace and religious plurality. It seeks to engage with the insights of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and others to ask what our many traditions can say together as we journey towards visible unity about the encounter with other religions that will necessarily be a part of the Church’s pilgrim way.

Faith and Order Paper No. 226

The alarming climate change demands that the churches’ journey toward visible unity must include a sustained dialogue with a theology for justice for and within creation and seek ways to put the fruits of that dialogue into practice.

This theological document seeks to demonstrate how a committed response to the environmental devastation of our time can be motivated by Christian faith in God the creator, redeemer, and sanctifier.

We have sought, first, to point to some of the urgent environmental situations which cry out for Christian reflection and action. Next, we have sought to root such a response in the progressively increasing ecumenical consideration of creation on the part of the WCC in recent decades and in various theological, ecclesiological, and ecumenical convictions which our churches share and which call them to join together in engagement to protect the environment. Finally, we have proposed ways in which such engagement can take form.

Faith and Order Paper No. 228

The volume features 14 self-descriptions of different traditions regard­ing moral discernment: their sources, the interplay of sources, and the processes of ecclesial deliberation. The different self-descriptions are presented to enable reflection on and provide awareness of how processes of moral discernment are envisioned by the respective traditions. They invite the reader, as well as churches, to study them, reflect on the moral discernment of their own tradition, and learn how others engage in moral discernment.

Faith and Order Paper No. 229

Many of the tensions between and among churches can be traced to the different positions they take on important ethical issues that face the churches and society. Yet, even within traditions positions change. In this second volume examining moral discernment in church traditions, the authors imagine changes in position on issues such as usury, slavery, marriage, suicide, as well as freedom of religion, apartheid, and involvement in war and peace.

Pilgrim Prayer, the new edition of the ecumenical prayer cycle, is a unique resource for global spiritual solidarity. Connecting us each week with the unique gifts and challenges of a particular region and context, this spiritual practice creates an annual pilgrimage across the world in prayer, uniting us in the Spirit and in witness and service to justice and peace.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID) released a joint document, “Serving a Wounded World in Interreligious Solidarity: A Christian Call to Reflection and Action During COVID-19.” Its purpose is to encourage churches and Christian organizations to reflect on the importance of interreligious solidarity in a world wounded by the COVID-19 pandemic. The document offers a Christian basis for interreligious solidarity that can inspire and confirm the impulse to serve a world wounded not only by COVID-19 but also by many other wounds.

This book offers a commentary on the Arusha Call to Discipleship, unpacking the meaning of its 12-part summons. It provides an up-to-date theological and missiological view on a major ecumenical mission document with a personal reflection on the state of the world desperately in need of change and transformation. It intends to be a key resource for discovering what it means to become what Pope Francis described as "missionary disciples". Primarily meant for individuals and study groups in churches, mission agencies and theological institutions, it is a useful tool for anyone interested in the ecumenical mission movement and World Christianity.